All I Want for Christmas is a Vampire (Love at Stake #5)

"How interesting," Ian murmured. "Tell me more." Damn, Toni was putting her arms around Gregori's neck.

"You want me to talk about how handsome you are?" Amy asked. "Isn't that kinda vain?"

"Ye're absolutely right. How clever of you."

"You jerk! I'm outta here." She stalked away.

He groaned. This night from hell would never end.

Toni and Gregori arrived at the back porch of the townhouse, and she used her special key to deactivate the alarm and open the door. He wished her good night, then teleported back to the Horny Devils for more dancing. It was odd, but she'd actually enjoyed herself at the vampire nightclub.

Unlike Ian. He had looked miserable. She hated to admit it, but a part of her rejoiced over his misery. His theory that only a Vamp would understand him was so wrong. Those bimbo bloodsuckers weren't good enough for him.

She rushed upstairs to her bedroom to get away from the surveillance cameras. She dropped her handbag on the bed and dialed Carlos. "Where are you now?"

"I got back to my apartment about five minutes ago," he replied. "I'm watching the monitor connected to your camera. It went black for a few seconds."

"That was teleportation. Does it give us the proof we need?"

"No, it just looked like a camera malfunction. So is this your luxurious bedroom I'm seeing now?" "Yes." Toni unclipped the camera from her vest and turned it off.

"Hey!" Carlos objected over the phone. "I want a tour of the house."

"And I want to go to bed." She slipped the camera into a dresser drawer. "I'm not sure if I caught any of the Vamps teleporting, because they just popped up without any advance warning. It was very frustrating." Though not as frustrating as watching those creepy Vamp women throw themselves at Ian.

"I don't know," Carlos replied. "I'll need to review the tape."

"If it didn't work, I have another idea." Toni opened the armoire across from her bed. Inside there was a television that she hadn't bothered to turn on yet. "The Vamps have their own television network called DVN."

"Really? What frequency is it on?"

"I don't know." She turned on the TV. "This looks like a commercial. Something called Vampos.

It's an after-dinner mint to get rid of blood breath."

Carlos laughed.

"I'm serious. Now there's a bat flapping its wings. Underneath it says--DVN, on 24/7 because it's always nighttime somewhere."

"Sounds interesting. I'll try to tap into it."

"Now there's a soap opera coming on. As the Vampire Turns. If we get a recording of this, won't it prove vampires exist?"

"Not really," Carlos said. "It's not unusual to have vampire shows on mortal television."

"But what about the commercials?"

"We see talking lizards and cavemen in commercials all the time. It doesn't make them real." "I beg to differ. I have dated a few cavemen." She turned the TV off and wondered how Ian was doing. Was he discovering his shimmering, starlit princess? Was she so fabulous, he'd forgotten about the kiss they'd shared?

"Merda," Carlos muttered. "I don't think the footage from the club is going to help. Every time you spun toward a teleporting Vamp, the picture blurred."

"Damn." How on earth were they going to prove the existence of vampires?

"And I'm afraid we have another problem," Carlos said. "I found the Proctors' house."

"You did? What happened?"

"I talked to the maid, Maria. She's from Colombia, and thankfully my Spanish is good. She said your phone call made the Proctors really nervous."

"Oh dear." Toni tossed her boots in the closet. "Did she say if Sabrina's okay?"

"She was locked in a bedroom upstairs. Maria saw her twice, said she was asleep both times."

"I'm afraid her uncle is drugging her."

"You're right. Maria said he was giving her Haldol. It's a strong antipsychotic. Tends to knock people out."

"This is terrible." Toni paced across the room.

"It gets worse. By the time I got there, the Proctors had packed up Sabrina and taken her somewhere. Maria said they were talking about a mental hospital."

"Oh no!" Toni collapsed on the bed. "Why are they doing this?"

"I'm not really sure, but you can bet it has something to do with the money Bri stands to inherit. I'll find out more tomorrow. I have a date with Maria."

"A date? But aren't you--?"

"I'm working undercover," Carlos said. "The Proctors always give Maria Friday night off 'cause they like to go out. So I'll convince her to let me into Uncle Joe's office. Shouldn't be too hard. She hates him 'cause he pinches her ass whenever his wife isn't looking."

"Oh, what a great guy."

"I'll call you tomorrow night. Hopefully I can find out which hospital they took Sabrina to." "I hope so. Thank you, Carlos." Toni hung up. Poor Bri. If she was trapped in a mental hospital, she would need to be rescued somehow. Carlos would help.

Toni took a deep breath. She'd failed her grandmother, and the guilt had gnawed at her ever since.

She wouldn't let Sabrina down.

Jedrek Janow lounged in his chair with his feet propped on his desk as he watched DVN. He couldn't believe the amount of information being thrown about. The newscaster on the Nightly News had actually reported that the Vamps still had no idea where the evil warlord Casimir was located. Jedrek hoped Casimir was watching. He'd love that part about being an evil warlord.

Then a show came on called Live with the Undead, and the buxom hostess announced that Roman Draganesti and his mortal wife were expecting their second child in May.

Jedrek snorted. Why pay spies when he could learn so much for free? Unfortunately, now a stupid soap opera was starting. He turned the television off and set his feet back on the floor. He picked up the photos Yuri had brought the other night and thumbed through them.

A whimpering sound came from the corner of his office. Nadia was still crying.

"Shut up. I can't concentrate with your sniveling."

She sniffed. "I miss my friends."

Of course she did. But the first step in breaking a bitch was isolation. He was making her sit in the corner all night. "Did I say you could talk?"

Tears rolled down her face. "I'm so hungry."

Of course she was. He'd fed earlier that evening, drinking his full from a captured mortal right here in the office while Nadia had been forced to watch. And go hungry. "I've told Yuri to bring me another snack. A blonde. I might let you feed this time."

"Yes, please."

"And when you're done feeding, you will kill the blonde to please me."

Nadia's face paled.

"If you want to eat, you'll have to kill her."

Her shoulders slumped. "Yes, sir."

"That's yes, Master."

Chapter Ten

"Oh my gosh," Toni whispered as she peered through the peephole on the front door. It was nine A.M. on Friday morning, the appointed arrival time for the babysitters, but Toni doubted the two girls with pink-striped hair were Shanna Draganesti and Gregori's mother. They banged on the door once again.

Toni punched the intercom. "May I help you?"

"Where's Ian?" one of the girls demanded. "We tried calling, but all we get is a recording."

"Yeah," the second girl agreed. "He says that he's taken, but we don't believe it. We want to see him!"

Toni groaned. The message Ian had left on the answering machine wasn't working. Some of his admirers were resorting to a more desperate tactic. "Please come back tonight."

"And let the competition get to him first? No way!"

Competition? Toni strode into the living room and peered out the window.

Good grief! There were a dozen more girls pacing up and down the sidewalk. They waved posters in the air. Pick me, Ian! Ian's so hot! One girl had a sparkly tiara on her head, and her poster read, I'm Ian's shimmering princess!

"Oh my gosh." Toni pulled the cell phone from her pocket and called Howard.

"Oh shoot," he muttered. "They must have gotten the address before Vanda had it removed. We're almost there. We'll park in the back. See you in a few minutes."

"All right." Toni hung up, then gathered her school stuff in the kitchen.

Soon she heard voices on the back porch. She peeked out the window and saw Howard fiddling with his key. Behind him was an older woman with graying hair and a younger, blonde woman, both loaded down with tote bags. A little boy stood close by.

She turned off the alarm and opened the door. "Hi. Thanks for coming."

"No problem." Howard strode into the kitchen and headed straight for the foyer. "I'll see if I can get rid of those girls out front."

"Okay." Toni turned to help the elderly woman put her tote bags on the kitchen table. "You must be Radinka."

"Thank you, yes." Radinka took her hand and regarded her curiously. "Interesting," she murmured.

The pretty blonde deposited her bags on the table. "Hi, I'm Shanna."

"Nice to meet you." Toni extended a hand, but Shanna pulled her into a hug.

"I heard how you were attacked the other night." Shanna patted her on the back. "I'm so glad you're safe now. Are you all right?"

"Yes." Toni was surprised by how sweet and...normal Shanna was. Who would ever believe she was the wife of a powerful Undead coven master? And there was an angelic little boy standing close to her.

"This is my son, Constantine." Shanna ruffled his blonde curls.

Toni leaned over. "Hi, Constantine."

He smiled, then buried his face in his mother's coat.

The older woman chuckled. "He won't be so shy once he gets to know you. Gregori told me he met you last night. He was very impressed with your dancing."

Toni laughed. "He's a lot of fun."

"Yes." Radinka's eyes narrowed. "But I do not believe he is the one destined for you, my dear." Toni blinked. "I--I'm not looking for anyone--"

Shanna touched her arm. "Don't worry. Radinka's always trying to match people up."

Radinka snorted. "There's no trying to it. I can see when two hearts belong together." She pointed to her temple. "I'm psychic, you know."

"Oh. That's nice." Toni didn't know what else to say.

"It doesn't take a psychic to know a bored child will be a problem." Radinka moved one of her tote bags to the floor. "So we brought the little one some toys."

Constantine rummaged through the bag, removed a big picture book, then wiggled onto a kitchen chair. "I want to learn how to read."

"That's wonderful." Toni smiled at him, and he smiled shyly back, his cheeks dimpling.

"Uncle Connor said you were nice. He said you know how to kick a--"

"Whoa, Uncle Connor talks too much." Shanna removed her coat, then turned to her son. "Let's get you out of that jacket."

While Shanna hung up jackets on the hooks by the back door, Radinka unloaded groceries from the remaining bags on the table.

"We weren't sure if you had enough food here." Radinka set a carton of milk in the fridge, then grabbed the kettle from the stove. "I'll make everyone a nice cup of tea."

Constantine eyed the bags of fruit still on the table. "Can I have a banana?"

"Here you go, sweetie." Shanna handed him one, then stashed the bags in the fridge.

Toni was about to offer Constantine some help when she realized he didn't need it. He peeled the banana, then bit off a piece while he studied his book.

He pointed at a word. "Is this house?"

She peered over his shoulder. "Yes, it is." What a bright little boy he was. She wondered if he was Shanna's from a previous relationship. Surely Vamp men weren't able to have children. "Thank you for coming today."

"We were happy to." Shanna hooked the empty tote bags on the pegs with their coats. "A delivery man's bringing a tree around noon. We always decorate one for the guards."

"Oh, that's nice." With all the turmoil in her life, Toni had forgotten that Christmas was coming soon.

Radinka set out three cups and saucers on the counter. "We saw those women out front with their posters. I can't believe they're behaving so silly."

"Yeah." Toni sat next to Constantine. "It's crazy."

Shanna shook her head. "Poor Ian. I heard he really had to suffer to get his older looks." Radinka made tsking noises as she placed a teabag in each cup. "Gregori told me he's doing a television interview tonight with Corky Courrant."

Shanna made a face. "That's a disaster waiting to happen."

"Why?" Toni asked.

Shanna bit her lip, considering. "I should leave Ian a note, begging him not to do it. Is he in the basement?"

"No, he outgrew his coffin. He's on the fifth floor." Toni winced. "In your husband's bedroom." Shanna laughed. "Well, looks like I'll get some exercise. Be right back." She strode from the kitchen.

Toni was tempted to go with her. She'd seen Ian only once this morning, right before calling in her eight o'clock report. She'd risen at six-thirty A.M. and was having breakfast in the kitchen when Phineas and Dougal had come in for a bedtime snack before retiring to the basement. She'd hoped to see Ian, but he'd gone straight up to the fifth floor without stopping by to see her. Why had he not wanted to talk to her? She was a bit worried that he'd actually hit it off with one of those fifty Vamps he'd dated last night.